India-rubber soles por boots and shoes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MCBURNEY, OF ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

INDIA-RUBBER SOLES FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 23,479, dated April 5, 18159; Reissued December 8, 1863, No. 1,587.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Criss. MGBURNEY, of Roxbury, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Sole for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a view of the sole seen from beneath; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section through the same; Fig. 3, a view of the two halves of the mold in which the sole is vulcanized.

My invention has for its object to make the soles of boots and shoes of india rubber (or a compound thereof) vulcanized, a materia] particularly adapted to this purpose by its durability, elasticity, and imperviousness to water.

The attempt has before been made to form complete soles of india rubber which were secured to the boot or shoe by nails or pegs in a manner similar to that adapted for the purpose of securing the leather soles of ordinary pegged shoes. Such sole however when applied was liable to the serious objection that the holes made for the pegs caused the edge of the sole to bulge out op posite to each peg. This gave to the sole an unsightly appearance, which it was not found practicable subsequently to remove.

My present invention consists in a vulcanized sole of india rubber or of a compound thereof having the holesv for the pegs or nails formed in it at the time it is vulcanized by suitable pins in the interior of the mold as will now be more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings the sole A, and heel B, are made of a single piece and are manufactured ready to be applied to the boot. The upper surface b, of the sole is formed to suit the shape of the foot, and this may be done much more perfectly than can be effected in leather. Both the sole and the heel are punctured nearly through with holes f, for the pegs or nails. This is effected by pins hi, attached to and making part of the mold Fig. 3 in which the sole is vulcanized; and when it is to be applied to the shoe it is simply necessary to insert the pegs or nails into the holes f, and drive them, the nails being slightly larger than the holes, that there may be sulhcient adhen sion between them and the india rubber to hold the sole in place. I thus accomplish two very desirable ends. Firstly the workman is relieved of the labor of making the holes for the pegs, and the time required for this operation is saved. Secondly the edge of the sole is not disgured by the bulging of the material opposite to each hole as is the case where the sole is vulcanized solid and the holes are subsequently punched. Either wooden pegs or metallic nails may be employed to secure the sole to the shoe or the holes may be of a suitable size and depth to allow the sole to be attached by sewing.

In the manufacture of the above sole I prefer the following composition of materials: 4 to 8 lbs. india rubber, 1 to 4 lbs. sulfur, 25 lbs. scraps of cloth covered with vulcanized rubber compound. This compound after being suitably ground and mixed in the customary manner, is vulcanized by eX- posure to a temperature of 205 to 270 from l to 4 hours or thereabout. These proportions may however be variously modified, and they form no part of my present invention. The sole may be made of various degrees of hardness, by varying the proportions of the materials and the details of the vulcanizing process.

It is obvious that the sole and heel may be made in one piece, or they may be made in separate and distinct pieces, or either one of them may be made of india rubber and the other of leather or of other material.

I do not claim making a sole for boots and shoes of vulcanized india rubber, neither do I claim attaching such sole to the boot by means of pegs, but

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is A sole made of vulcanized india rubber and having the holes for the reception of the pegs formed in the mold in which it is vulcanized as set forth.

CHAS. MGBURNEY. lVitnesses:

THos. R. Roser-1, P. E. TESCHEMAGHER. 

